Factors Contributing to Drive–by Shootings

Understanding the factors that contribute to your problem
will help you frame your own local analysis questions, determine good
effectiveness measures, recognize key intervention points, and select
appropriate responses.

Gang Membership †

† Police departments use different thresholds in determining whether an event is
“gang–related.” The Los Angeles Police Department applies the label if the
victim or offender is a known gang member. In Chicago, however, the event must
exhibit a gang–related motive such as retaliation, initiation, or turf defense.
Mere membership is not sufficient for the “gang–related” classification
(Rosenfeld, Bray, and Egley 1999; Block and Block 1993 [PDF]).

Although gang membership is certainly not a prerequisite to
being involved in a drive–by shooting, studies have shown that larger
proportions of gang members reported being involved in drive–by shootings than
at–risk youth who were not gang–involved.7 While approximately equal proportions of males and females reported taking part
in drive–by shootings, females were less likely to admit to having actually
shot anyone, which suggests that their role in the event may have been minor or
secondary.

Gang membership may facilitate involvement in drive–by
shootings by placing members in risky situations–ones in which guns are present
and behavioral norms often include violence.8 Gang members are more likely than nongang members to own guns for protection,
are more likely to have friends who own guns for protection, and are more
likely to carry guns when outside the home.9 Further,
while not all gang members engage in drive–by shootings, those who do
are often attracted by the opportunity to demonstrate their loyalty and enhance
their group status.10

Motivations

Depending on whether the drive–by shooting is gang–related
or not, motivations differ. Those that are gang–involved tend to be motivated
by mutual antagonism with rival gang members, disputes over territory or turf,
a desire to show fearlessness or loyalty to the group, an effort to promote one’s
social status or self–image, or retaliation against real or perceived disrespect
or insults.11 The desire for excitement can provide momentum for the event, making the
participants restless and unruly.12 Sometimes, those involved in drive–by shootings use drugs and alcohol to
rationalize their actions.

Disputes among drug dealers may also provide the motivation
for drive–by shootings. Gang members and those involved in drug enterprises tend
not to rely on the formal criminal justice system to resolve their disputes.
Instead, they respond with their own forms of justice, often violent, to punish
others for perceived wrongs and to deter future aggression.13 Drive–by shootings are one way in which gang members and other street criminals
exact revenge and enhance their status. These conflicts build and retaliation
tends to lead to counter–retaliation, with each side believing they are acting
in self–defense.14

Drive–by shootings that are not gang– or drug–motivated tend
to occur in reaction to disputes among neighbors or acquaintances, or as an
escalation of altercations that may have begun in a bar, restaurant, or
nightclub. Obviously, not all disputes or tensions escalate to the point of
violence, and research has not yet demonstrated what distinguishes those events
that do from those that do not. At the most basic level, the aggressors must
have access to both a vehicle and a gun, but beyond that, these events appear
to be rather unpredictable. Newspapers are replete with accounts of incidents
with unclear motivations involving shots fired from a vehicle at another
vehicle, stationary target, person, or group of people.

Drive–by shootings that occur as an extreme form of road
rage often occur in reaction to seemingly trivial events (e.g., another driver
is driving “too slow,” won’t let another driver pass, is tailgating, fails to
signal before turning). While triggered by these events, the underlying
motivation usually appears to be a series of unrelated stressors in the perpetrator’s
life.15 The protection, anonymity, sense of power, and ease of escape provided by the
vehicle lead some motorists to feel safe expressing their hostility toward
other drivers.16

Vehicle and Gun Availability

A drive–by shooting’s prerequisites include access to a
vehicle and a gun. Those who carry out drive–by shootings may use their own
vehicle or one that has been borrowed, rented, or stolen. Because many drive–by
shootings occur at night, dependable descriptions of the vehicle involved may
be difficult to obtain.

When gun ownership is more prevalent, the risk of drive–by
shootings increases as well. Although both juveniles and adults participate in them,
most research on drive–by shootings has focused on the prevalence of gun
ownership among adolescents. Substantial numbers of adolescents have owned guns
at some point in their lives, although their ownership tends to be sporadic.17 In recent years, as gun possession among juveniles has become more widespread,
the threshold for using guns to resolve conflicts appears to have lowered.18 Surveys of juvenile offenders have shown that over half obtained their first gun
without a specific plan to do so; rather, they reported finding the gun or said
a peer, sibling, or other relative gave it to them to use for self–protection.19 Those who carry guns for protection may be resistant to voluntarily forfeiting
their weapons, as they fear harm from peers or rival gang members more than
they fear legal sanctions.20

It is not so much the number of guns in circulation, but
rather the number of people carrying them in high–risk places and at high–risk
times that creates the potential for a drive–by shooting.21 Further, the number of events in which guns are actually used is only a
fraction of the times in which guns are present.22 As a result, it is important to know the times and places in which guns are
present, and the factors that contribute to their use.

Times and Locations

Many drive–by shootings occur under the cover of darkness,
either to help the shooters avoid detection or because the precipitating events
occur at night.23 Gang members tend to target rival groups at parties or lingering on the street.
Not only do these people have little time to react, but also the offenders can
boast about carrying out the shooting when they were vastly outnumbered.24

Wide open streets are often chosen as the preferred venue
because they allow the shooters to approach without detection and to escape
unhindered. Proximity to major roadways may facilitate access to and from the
shooting location.25 Targets may include people on the street, those in vehicles that are stopped at
a light or parked, and those who are inside their homes.26 Drive–by shootings that occur as an extreme form of road rage appear to be
rather unpredictable in terms of the times and locations where they occur. Understanding Your Local
Problem

The information provided above is only a generalized
description of drive–by shootings. You must combine these basic facts with a
more specific understanding of your local problem. Analyzing the local problem
carefully will help you design a more effective response strategy.